The present invention generally relates to vehicular utility racks, and more specifically to utility racks that enable a user to have a mechanical advantage during utility rack loading and unloading.
Securing and transporting large cumbersome items such as ladders, pipes, building materials, sports equipment, etc. on top of vehicles such as vans or pick-up trucks is common practice. Conventional utility racks require a user to lift the large, cumbersome item some vertical distance above the roof of the vehicle in order to secure and ready the item for transport. This process is particularly awkward when heavy, long, or particularly cumbersome items are to be loaded. Numerous prior art racks attempt to overcome the shortcomings of conventional utility racks by furnishing the user with a mechanical advantage enabling an item to be lowered from a storage position above the roof of the vehicle to a more convenient loading position adjacent the side of the vehicle.
Conventional utility racks incorporate a number of rotating, moving, and sliding parts as well as motorized and hydraulic assists making these racks more expensive to manufacture and more likely to require regular maintenance and adjustment. These complexities render these conventional rack designs impractical. Moreover, many conventional racks employ complex arrangements of various elements of the rack for various reasons. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,543 to Adame is expensive to manufacture due to the numerous mechanical parts required, and does not deliver the ladder to a low enough position adjacent the vehicle side where a user of average stature standing next to the vehicle can load or unload the ladder at shoulder height. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,181 to Bradley discloses a number of pivot points, rotating elements, and sliding parts all of which are expensive to manufacture and more likely to require regular maintenance and adjustment. Thus, a simplified construction is desired.
Conventional utility racks known in the art possess a number of operational limitations. Many conventional racks are not capable of delivering the item to be transported to a position adjacent the vehicle side such that a user of average stature standing next to the vehicle can easily and conveniently load or unload the item. In addition, many conventional utility racks are not capable of delivering the item to be transported to a position proximal to the vehicle side but at a distance away from the vehicle side. Such a capability avoids the possibility of damaging the vehicle during the loading and unloading of the item and further provides a more convenient and easy manner of loading and unloading the item. Furthermore, conventional utility racks failed to provide a deployment position where the item is loaded or unloaded in a level position. By providing an asymmetrical carriage assembly, conventional utility racks varied the forces operating on different portions of the rack when portions of the rack are rotated. Thus, the operation and deployment of the items were not smooth and fluid. Accordingly, a utility rack design is desired to provide not only smooth motion, but also to deploy the transported item in a level position lower to the ground and away from the vehicle.
Moreover, conventional utility racks have not been completely effective in preventing item theft while the item is in the storage position. Conventional racks are also not particularly effective in preventing large, cumbersome items from moving about while a vehicle is in motion. During transport, road vibration will cause an item not snugly secured to bounce around vertically, horizontally, and/or longitudinally. The movement of the item during transport can weaken the inherent structure of the utility rack and potentially damage the item itself, and can be objectionable due to the noise generated by the movement of the item to be transported within the utility rack.
Furthermore, conventional utility racks can hinder the opening of the hinged side door and the rear door of a utility vehicle. Many conventional racks generally deploy a carriage assembly that extends outward and pivots downward from the roof to a position substantially below the height of the roof edge and roof surface. When the carriage assembly is deployed, the cargo side door may not fully swing open requiring the user to set the item down and retract the carriage assembly before gaining entrance through the side door. Similarly, many conventional racks provide a manual lever for moving the carriage assembly from above the roof to a position adjacent the vehicle side. When the carriage assembly is in the deployed position, the position of the lever can restrict one or more of the vehicle rear doors from being swung open.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art.